The Life and Legend of the Locks

 Introduction

Marguerite "Peggy" Spicer Bulkley is a granddaughter of Mathias and Barbara Lock, pioneers of Fountain, Colorado.  She lived most of her life in the Colorado towns of Fountain and Pueblo and passed away 23 Apr 1998 at the age of 100.  She began recording family stories at the age of fifteen on scraps of papers, which she then glued into four loose-leaf notebooks.¹ I located Xerox copies of these pages about 1995 in the Carnegie Library of the Pikes Peak Library District in Colorado Springs.² 

The next year, at the tender age of 89, Mrs. Bulkley was forced to acknowledge her father may have been a murderer when a written confession, signed by someone with her father's same name, was found on the inside of a window molding in a Fountain house that he quite possibly built in 1893.  The discovery of this confession led a criminal investigator to Mrs. Bulkley, the family historian.  A subsequent article appeared in the local newspaper a short time later, which also mentioned that this incident was not recorded in Mrs. Bulkley’s family history since she was unaware of the details of her father’s secret.³  It was noted, however, that she hoped someday her compiled family stories would “find a home in the Pioneer Museum archives”⁴ in Colorado Springs. 

Rightfully, they should, for she spent a good portion of her life recording stories from the lives of two of Fountain’s pioneers, her grandparents.  While the existence of Mathias and Barbara Lock is no secret, I wish to publicize Mrs. Bulkley’s writings, for they contain details about the life and times of Fountain’s pioneers that are found nowhere else.  She is very candid when including not-so-pleasant family situations.  Her honesty is to be commended. 

I lived in Fountain for a number of years and always had a curiosity bout the town’s history.  I began researching when I was helping my daughter with a 4-H project, which led to the discovery of Bulkley's work.  I hung onto the notes we made, realizing they were full of facts about real people, which were not generally known to others. The story of the Lock family is not only a story about the history of the City of Fountain, but also a story of the courage behind the women pioneering the West.  Mrs. Bulkley’s grandmother, Barbara Lock was a remarkably strong woman, and the second woman to settle in the vicinity of the confluence of Jimmy Camp and Fountain Creeks.  She, and others like her, pioneered this area and left us a legacy worth telling.  Barbara’s daughter, Hovena, also exhibited a strong character, and when the men in the family had failings, these women stepped in to hold the family together.  It was Hovena’s daughter, Marguerite, who preserved their memory on paper. 

Copies of the pages of Mrs. Bulkley's scrapbooks did not make their way to the Pioneer's Museum in Colorado Springs, but they have found a home in Special Collections at Carnegie Library in that city.  I wish to honor Mrs. Bulkley and see that her wish come true by publicizing her story.  It is my intention to protect the privacy of any individuals in Mrs. Bulkley’s story, who may still be living, by excluding them from this publication.  However, an effort to turn up any living relatives has proved fruitless thus far.⁵ Therefore, I will be telling Mrs. Bulkley's story from her own writings with of few of her quotes sprinkled here and there, rather than providing an actual transcription.  Mrs. Bulkley’s paragraphs regarding other settlers to the area are included in the section titled “Early Fountain Families.”

The facts for the following story are taken from Bulkley's manuscript. I also researched census, newspapers, and certain historical events, and conducted personal interviews.  I write this to share with other history enthusiasts.  This is not a historical novel, so the names of the characters have not been changed.  This history of the City of Fountain is told around the Lock family.  I take very few liberties in embellishing the story, making interjections only when they would be obvious.  An example of this is when the Locks meet up with Thomas Owen.  My research shows the Locks did meet with Owen and did share his fire, but it does not specify that they told each other their life stories.  I just assume they did.  If I put myself in the place of Barbara Lock, I can imagine such a discussion was very likely.  Another example would be the first Christmas shared by the Locks and Owen.  My research shows nothing about them sharing Christmas.  I just assume they most likely did since there were yet no other neighbors in their immediate vicinity.  This also seems the best way to interject Barbara’s connection to the hymn “Silent Night.”

I am a Colorado transplant from South Carolina, working on certificate in genealogy.  I am currently employed at a local high school library, helping students develop their own researching skills.  My love of history blossomed during the time I homeschooled my four daughters.  My hobbies are varied, but my dearest is genealogy. 

I have made many trips by car, bicycle, and on foot through the small town of Fountain, wondering about the old buildings.  Most of the old structures were lost to progress before I ever saw them.  I do not complain about progress, for it is necessary, but I do mourn every time an old building is destroyed.   I hope that as we progress as a society, this story, and others like it, will help us appreciate those who paved the way for us.

Angela Thaden Hahn

aethahn@aol.com   

Dedicated to my cousin, Marsha, the sister I never had, who, like me, loves maps and roadside markers.

Check back to this site periodically.  Stories from Mrs. Bulkley's scrapbooks will appear piece by piece.  Because the library does not own the copyright to Mrs. Bulkley's manuscript, I cannot make copies from which to work.  I will be making several trips to the library to make notes for future pieces.  I urge any of Mrs. Bulkley's relatives to contact me.  Together we can turn out an awesome story. 

© 2009
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